I was diagnosed at 41 but had symptoms at 39. The biggest thing for me was that I had to stop working and earning my own income. And I could not pick up my grand kids in case I dropped them.

yes, you are the new face of PD and you will feel like an outsider...you will have a chance to educate people every day, so ask yourself what is your purpose? Find a different support group, a young onset one and find local activities. Facebook has some YOPD groups, and the APDA has a young onset link also.

Good luck!

i wanted to add that, for me, i lost the chance to complete my lifes work through my career. i wasnt at all ready to stop working at my job. this was a HUGE loss for me..

I was diagnosed at 50 I consider myself to be young and I have found it very isolating because I'm younger I went to one meeting and was asked if I was part of the medical team running it, I guess because I was by far the youngest person there. When I'm in public and my tremor is bad I feel as though people look at me as though I were an addict or I get looked at suspiciously as if I'm nervous

I was diagnosed and I was around 52 but I still consider that young. The hardest thing for me to deal with was the frustration of not being able to do something that usually Was quite simple. That and the lack of motivation made it really hard to go through it and it's especially tough when you're young.